Who do the C’s cut?

[Moranis]

Murray is better than Holiday. What can make it a little close is that Holiday is a much better defender than Murray, but Murray is still the overall better of the two.

I just saw the Giannis > Tatum "significant" thing though and strongly disagree. Maybe that's true in 2020 and 2021. Not now, Tatum is better overall. I think Giannis has peaked as a player. Obviously he can still remain a MVP-candidate for many years to come, but what else do we realistically think he can improve on and get significantly better at? I think Tatum meanwhile still has some room to grow.

You're not gonna get an argument from me about who is more "championship tough", Giannis has the hardware to prove it from 2021. But at the same time, Giannis' team got bounced in the very first round last season, am I supposed to act like he shouldn't be held accountable for that like Tatum often does in situations where the team frustrates or loses a series (and/or Tatum chokes like the 2022 Finals).

Looking at 2023-24 only, if you could choose Tatum or GA, you’d choose Tatum?  I don’t think I would, but that’s something I’ll gladly be wrong about.

Yep, I would.

Same. Tatum is the best two-way player in the NBA.

He may be in the future, but he hasn't been at any point in his career yet.

Who do you have as a better two-way player right now?

Giannis scores more on a higher eFG% with more assists and is a better defender (and rebounder).

Jokic should be 3-time MVP right now.  His offense transcends his adequate defense.

Giannis FG% is high since he dunks so much. He really can’t shoot, though. 27% from 3pt and 64% from the line last season. Calling Jokic’s defense adequate is generous, IMO. I think Embiid is ahead of those two. He plays high level defense and can shoot the ball. I have him and Tatum 1 and 2. It’s an interesting debate, though.

Who cares if somebody is a good outside shooter, if they're a dominant and efficient scorer?

It’s not just from outside, though. Giannis can’t shoot from anywhere, including the FT line. He’s only efficient in the paint.

There have been dominant bigs who have had the same offensive profile. I just think at this moment Giannis is able to dominate games more so than JT. Possibly that will shift this year. Hope it does.

Giannis is basically a faster not as big version of Shaq on offense.  He is just so dominant inside.  The Bucks problem the last couple of years has been the decline of Middleton as the 2nd option.  They didn't have him at all 2 years ago and he didn't get back to his pre-injury level last year.  That is why Lillard is such a great addition for them.  They need a guy to be the Kobe/Wade to Shaq.  They have it again, which is why the Bucks are so scary.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Murray is better than Holiday. What can make it a little close is that Holiday is a much better defender than Murray, but Murray is still the overall better of the two.

I just saw the Giannis > Tatum "significant" thing though and strongly disagree. Maybe that's true in 2020 and 2021. Not now, Tatum is better overall. I think Giannis has peaked as a player. Obviously he can still remain a MVP-candidate for many years to come, but what else do we realistically think he can improve on and get significantly better at? I think Tatum meanwhile still has some room to grow.

You're not gonna get an argument from me about who is more "championship tough", Giannis has the hardware to prove it from 2021. But at the same time, Giannis' team got bounced in the very first round last season, am I supposed to act like he shouldn't be held accountable for that like Tatum often does in situations where the team frustrates or loses a series (and/or Tatum chokes like the 2022 Finals).

To be fair I specifically said at PF, which is what the lineup comparison was.  Giannis is a SIGNIFICANTLY better PF than Tatum is.  It isn't close at all.  It is much closer comparing Tatum at SF to Giannis at PF, which is why I do think Horford should start moving Tatum to SF where is a significantly better player than he is at PF. 

Holiday isn't the defender he was in his prime.  He is slipping, though is still obviously still an excellent defender.  He is also a 6'4" guard who is 33 and hurt a fair amount.  Those type of players don't usually gradually decline defensively, they often just fall off a cliff.  Hopefully that doesn't happen to Jrue this year, but that time is rapidly approaching, which is why Boston needs to go all in right now.  Make whatever moves the team can without thinking about the cost.  Trade draft picks.  Do everything and go for it.

I think your first point is fair. I think Giannis is much better than Tatum on a night-to-night basis. But I do think Tatum has the ability to rise the occassion and be the best player on the court against the Bucks.

I really don't agree with your point on Holiday though. I haven't thought his defense is slipping at all, and even if he does start to lose a step, his defense has always been based on his length, strength, and anticipation, not explosiveness.

However, I generally do agree on your last point. I'm sure Stevens is seeing what is out there, but I think he needs to grab another rotation player that could play some playoff minutes and eat up a lot of regular season minutes at the four.

[Who]

I don't like comparing Giannis to Shaq. He is not as physically imposing as Shaq was. Giannis is closer to David Robinson minus the jump-shot and FT shooting.

[Moranis]

I don't like comparing Giannis to Shaq. He is not as physically imposing as Shaq was. Giannis is closer to David Robinson minus the jump-shot and FT shooting.

He is not, but he is as dominant.  bball-ref has shooting numbers starting with the 96-97 season.  In Shaq's 3 Lakers title seasons from 0-3 feet he shot 77.1% and took 44.1% of his attempts from that range.  The last 3 seasons from 0-3 feet Giannis is shooting 81% and is taking 44.5% of his shots from that range.  In other words, Giannis shoots more from that range and hits at a much higher percentage than Shaq did at his apex.  Shaq's best shooting season was 01 at 79.2% which carried his average those 3 seasons.  In the last 3 years, Giannis has been 83.7, 80.8, and 79.1.  There is a very strong argument that Giannis is the most dominant interior scorer that has ever played (I'd take Wilt over him, but I'm not sure I'd take anyone else).  Even guys like Claxton, Gobert, Jordan, etc. that lead the league in FG% at around 70% haven't had a season from 0-3 feet shooting 83.7% (well Jordan just did that for the first time in Denver, but the volume isn't hardly anything).

I think a lot of people still remember Giannis as the skinny SF, but Giannis is a monster now and he is unstoppable in the paint. He isn't your typical old school big man in that he does spread out his other shots from all parts of the floor, but for pure dominance and volume around the basket, there is basically no one better that has ever played the game.

[Goldstar88]

I don't like comparing Giannis to Shaq. He is not as physically imposing as Shaq was. Giannis is closer to David Robinson minus the jump-shot and FT shooting.

He is not, but he is as dominant.  bball-ref has shooting numbers starting with the 96-97 season.  In Shaq's 3 Lakers title seasons from 0-3 feet he shot 77.1% and took 44.1% of his attempts from that range.  The last 3 seasons from 0-3 feet Giannis is shooting 81% and is taking 44.5% of his shots from that range.  In other words, Giannis shoots more from that range and hits at a much higher percentage than Shaq did at his apex.  Shaq's best shooting season was 01 at 79.2% which carried his average those 3 seasons.  In the last 3 years, Giannis has been 83.7, 80.8, and 79.1.  There is a very strong argument that Giannis is the most dominant interior scorer that has ever played (I'd take Wilt over him, but I'm not sure I'd take anyone else).  Even guys like Claxton, Gobert, Jordan, etc. that lead the league in FG% at around 70% haven't had a season from 0-3 feet shooting 83.7% (well Jordan just did that for the first time in Denver, but the volume isn't hardly anything).

I think a lot of people still remember Giannis as the skinny SF, but Giannis is a monster now and he is unstoppable in the paint. He isn't your typical old school big man in that he does spread out his other shots from all parts of the floor, but for pure dominance and volume around the basket, there is basically no one better that has ever played the game.

If Shaq played in todays NBA he would put up Wilt Chamberlain like numbers. League is so soft now compared to the 90’s and early 2000’s.

[droopdog7]

Holiday>Murray
White>KCP
Brown>MPJ
Tatum>Gordon
Porzingis<Jokic

Holiday<Lillard
White>Beasley
Brown>Middleton
Tatum=Giannis
Porzingis>Lopez

Celtics have more than enough size. Honestly, not sure how much better Lillard is than Holiday considering Dame plays little to no defense.

Only in a Celtics forum.

Don't think Jrue is better than Murray either, but maybe that's just me cause I value offense over defense.

Murray is SIGNIFICANTLY better than Jrue.  Giannis at PF is SIGNIFICANTLY better than Tatum at PF.

This is true ONLY if you forget about defense.  Defense is HALF the game folks.  I know offense is the part that is hyped, but C's are very unique in that their top 6 players are all very good to excellent on both offense AND defense.  The good part about this is it is very difficult to "pick on" an of the defenders for mismatches, and also equally as hard to sag off any of these players on offense.  That means a couple things.  Your players have to work harder to score, while the C's simply punish the poor defenders that either lay off one of the 5 shooters on the perimeter, or watch the 5 drivers go by.  Add the 2 additional elite shooters the C's have in spots 7 and 8 in PP and hauser and the will be very very tough to beat.  We all have stated the C's apparent weakness is that 3rd big that would allow the C's to go 2 bigs against the few teams with 2 above average bigs.  Cav's, bucks, etc.  Hopefully Queta can grow into that or Blake decides to come back.

On a team level you can argue that defense is half the game.  On an individual level, defense if like 5% of someone's value.

[droopdog7]

I don't like comparing Giannis to Shaq. He is not as physically imposing as Shaq was. Giannis is closer to David Robinson minus the jump-shot and FT shooting.

He is not, but he is as dominant.  bball-ref has shooting numbers starting with the 96-97 season.  In Shaq's 3 Lakers title seasons from 0-3 feet he shot 77.1% and took 44.1% of his attempts from that range.  The last 3 seasons from 0-3 feet Giannis is shooting 81% and is taking 44.5% of his shots from that range.  In other words, Giannis shoots more from that range and hits at a much higher percentage than Shaq did at his apex.  Shaq's best shooting season was 01 at 79.2% which carried his average those 3 seasons.  In the last 3 years, Giannis has been 83.7, 80.8, and 79.1.  There is a very strong argument that Giannis is the most dominant interior scorer that has ever played (I'd take Wilt over him, but I'm not sure I'd take anyone else).  Even guys like Claxton, Gobert, Jordan, etc. that lead the league in FG% at around 70% haven't had a season from 0-3 feet shooting 83.7% (well Jordan just did that for the first time in Denver, but the volume isn't hardly anything).

I think a lot of people still remember Giannis as the skinny SF, but Giannis is a monster now and he is unstoppable in the paint. He isn't your typical old school big man in that he does spread out his other shots from all parts of the floor, but for pure dominance and volume around the basket, there is basically no one better that has ever played the game.

If Shaq played in todays NBA he would put up Wilt Chamberlain like numbers. League is so soft now compared to the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Or, he might be a bench player because he get's played off the floor and teams don't post up anymore.  Giannis' game is much more suitable for today that Shaq's would be.

[Moranis]

I don't like comparing Giannis to Shaq. He is not as physically imposing as Shaq was. Giannis is closer to David Robinson minus the jump-shot and FT shooting.

He is not, but he is as dominant.  bball-ref has shooting numbers starting with the 96-97 season.  In Shaq's 3 Lakers title seasons from 0-3 feet he shot 77.1% and took 44.1% of his attempts from that range.  The last 3 seasons from 0-3 feet Giannis is shooting 81% and is taking 44.5% of his shots from that range.  In other words, Giannis shoots more from that range and hits at a much higher percentage than Shaq did at his apex.  Shaq's best shooting season was 01 at 79.2% which carried his average those 3 seasons.  In the last 3 years, Giannis has been 83.7, 80.8, and 79.1.  There is a very strong argument that Giannis is the most dominant interior scorer that has ever played (I'd take Wilt over him, but I'm not sure I'd take anyone else).  Even guys like Claxton, Gobert, Jordan, etc. that lead the league in FG% at around 70% haven't had a season from 0-3 feet shooting 83.7% (well Jordan just did that for the first time in Denver, but the volume isn't hardly anything).

I think a lot of people still remember Giannis as the skinny SF, but Giannis is a monster now and he is unstoppable in the paint. He isn't your typical old school big man in that he does spread out his other shots from all parts of the floor, but for pure dominance and volume around the basket, there is basically no one better that has ever played the game.

If Shaq played in todays NBA he would put up Wilt Chamberlain like numbers. League is so soft now compared to the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Or, he might be a bench player because he get's played off the floor and teams don't post up anymore.  Giannis' game is much more suitable for today that Shaq's would be.

or he gets into foul trouble because he is pulled out to the 3 line, or he develops a shot out to 3 and isn't effective inside, or countless other things.  No way to know, only thing you can know is what actually happened

[Goldstar88]

I don't like comparing Giannis to Shaq. He is not as physically imposing as Shaq was. Giannis is closer to David Robinson minus the jump-shot and FT shooting.

He is not, but he is as dominant.  bball-ref has shooting numbers starting with the 96-97 season.  In Shaq's 3 Lakers title seasons from 0-3 feet he shot 77.1% and took 44.1% of his attempts from that range.  The last 3 seasons from 0-3 feet Giannis is shooting 81% and is taking 44.5% of his shots from that range.  In other words, Giannis shoots more from that range and hits at a much higher percentage than Shaq did at his apex.  Shaq's best shooting season was 01 at 79.2% which carried his average those 3 seasons.  In the last 3 years, Giannis has been 83.7, 80.8, and 79.1.  There is a very strong argument that Giannis is the most dominant interior scorer that has ever played (I'd take Wilt over him, but I'm not sure I'd take anyone else).  Even guys like Claxton, Gobert, Jordan, etc. that lead the league in FG% at around 70% haven't had a season from 0-3 feet shooting 83.7% (well Jordan just did that for the first time in Denver, but the volume isn't hardly anything).

I think a lot of people still remember Giannis as the skinny SF, but Giannis is a monster now and he is unstoppable in the paint. He isn't your typical old school big man in that he does spread out his other shots from all parts of the floor, but for pure dominance and volume around the basket, there is basically no one better that has ever played the game.

If Shaq played in todays NBA he would put up Wilt Chamberlain like numbers. League is so soft now compared to the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Or, he might be a bench player because he get's played off the floor and teams don't post up anymore.  Giannis' game is much more suitable for today that Shaq's would be.

or he gets into foul trouble because he is pulled out to the 3 line, or he develops a shot out to 3 and isn't effective inside, or countless other things.  No way to know, only thing you can know is what actually happened

You guys must have missed Shaq when he was on the Magic. His game would have translated just fine.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0grIbJ5O-8&pp=ygUSc2hhcSBvcmxhbmRvIG1hZ2lj

[Moranis]

I don't like comparing Giannis to Shaq. He is not as physically imposing as Shaq was. Giannis is closer to David Robinson minus the jump-shot and FT shooting.

He is not, but he is as dominant.  bball-ref has shooting numbers starting with the 96-97 season.  In Shaq's 3 Lakers title seasons from 0-3 feet he shot 77.1% and took 44.1% of his attempts from that range.  The last 3 seasons from 0-3 feet Giannis is shooting 81% and is taking 44.5% of his shots from that range.  In other words, Giannis shoots more from that range and hits at a much higher percentage than Shaq did at his apex.  Shaq's best shooting season was 01 at 79.2% which carried his average those 3 seasons.  In the last 3 years, Giannis has been 83.7, 80.8, and 79.1.  There is a very strong argument that Giannis is the most dominant interior scorer that has ever played (I'd take Wilt over him, but I'm not sure I'd take anyone else).  Even guys like Claxton, Gobert, Jordan, etc. that lead the league in FG% at around 70% haven't had a season from 0-3 feet shooting 83.7% (well Jordan just did that for the first time in Denver, but the volume isn't hardly anything).

I think a lot of people still remember Giannis as the skinny SF, but Giannis is a monster now and he is unstoppable in the paint. He isn't your typical old school big man in that he does spread out his other shots from all parts of the floor, but for pure dominance and volume around the basket, there is basically no one better that has ever played the game.

If Shaq played in todays NBA he would put up Wilt Chamberlain like numbers. League is so soft now compared to the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Or, he might be a bench player because he get's played off the floor and teams don't post up anymore.  Giannis' game is much more suitable for today that Shaq's would be.

or he gets into foul trouble because he is pulled out to the 3 line, or he develops a shot out to 3 and isn't effective inside, or countless other things.  No way to know, only thing you can know is what actually happened

You guys must have missed Shaq when he was on the Magic. His game would have translated just fine.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0grIbJ5O-8&pp=ygUSc2hhcSBvcmxhbmRvIG1hZ2lj

I remember Shaq on the Magic quite well.  That guy wasn't the dominant interior scorer he became in LA.  He was very good obviously, but he took it to another level when he bulked up and stopped running the floor. And that mostly happened because he got hurt and couldn't run the floor the same way.  He was too big to maintain that style of play, which would have most likely always happened no matter what era he played in. His frame needed him to be the behemoth of a man and that big a man can't run the floor the same way.  Shaq was always at his best when he was huge, he never would have been able to keep the frame he had in Orlando.

[celticsclay]

I don't like comparing Giannis to Shaq. He is not as physically imposing as Shaq was. Giannis is closer to David Robinson minus the jump-shot and FT shooting.

He is not, but he is as dominant.  bball-ref has shooting numbers starting with the 96-97 season.  In Shaq's 3 Lakers title seasons from 0-3 feet he shot 77.1% and took 44.1% of his attempts from that range.  The last 3 seasons from 0-3 feet Giannis is shooting 81% and is taking 44.5% of his shots from that range.  In other words, Giannis shoots more from that range and hits at a much higher percentage than Shaq did at his apex.  Shaq's best shooting season was 01 at 79.2% which carried his average those 3 seasons.  In the last 3 years, Giannis has been 83.7, 80.8, and 79.1.  There is a very strong argument that Giannis is the most dominant interior scorer that has ever played (I'd take Wilt over him, but I'm not sure I'd take anyone else).  Even guys like Claxton, Gobert, Jordan, etc. that lead the league in FG% at around 70% haven't had a season from 0-3 feet shooting 83.7% (well Jordan just did that for the first time in Denver, but the volume isn't hardly anything).

I think a lot of people still remember Giannis as the skinny SF, but Giannis is a monster now and he is unstoppable in the paint. He isn't your typical old school big man in that he does spread out his other shots from all parts of the floor, but for pure dominance and volume around the basket, there is basically no one better that has ever played the game.

If Shaq played in todays NBA he would put up Wilt Chamberlain like numbers. League is so soft now compared to the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Or, he might be a bench player because he get's played off the floor and teams don't post up anymore.  Giannis' game is much more suitable for today that Shaq's would be.

or he gets into foul trouble because he is pulled out to the 3 line, or he develops a shot out to 3 and isn't effective inside, or countless other things.  No way to know, only thing you can know is what actually happened

You guys must have missed Shaq when he was on the Magic. His game would have translated just fine.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0grIbJ5O-8&pp=ygUSc2hhcSBvcmxhbmRvIG1hZ2lj

I remember Shaq on the Magic quite well.  That guy wasn't the dominant interior scorer he became in LA.  He was very good obviously, but he took it to another level when he bulked up and stopped running the floor. And that mostly happened because he got hurt and couldn't run the floor the same way.  He was too big to maintain that style of play, which would have most likely always happened no matter what era he played in. His frame needed him to be the behemoth of a man and that big a man can't run the floor the same way.  Shaq was always at his best when he was huge, he never would have been able to keep the frame he had in Orlando.

This is kind of interesting to me because it feels like you have started an argument with yourself here?

[Goldstar88]

I don't like comparing Giannis to Shaq. He is not as physically imposing as Shaq was. Giannis is closer to David Robinson minus the jump-shot and FT shooting.

He is not, but he is as dominant.  bball-ref has shooting numbers starting with the 96-97 season.  In Shaq's 3 Lakers title seasons from 0-3 feet he shot 77.1% and took 44.1% of his attempts from that range.  The last 3 seasons from 0-3 feet Giannis is shooting 81% and is taking 44.5% of his shots from that range.  In other words, Giannis shoots more from that range and hits at a much higher percentage than Shaq did at his apex.  Shaq's best shooting season was 01 at 79.2% which carried his average those 3 seasons.  In the last 3 years, Giannis has been 83.7, 80.8, and 79.1.  There is a very strong argument that Giannis is the most dominant interior scorer that has ever played (I'd take Wilt over him, but I'm not sure I'd take anyone else).  Even guys like Claxton, Gobert, Jordan, etc. that lead the league in FG% at around 70% haven't had a season from 0-3 feet shooting 83.7% (well Jordan just did that for the first time in Denver, but the volume isn't hardly anything).

I think a lot of people still remember Giannis as the skinny SF, but Giannis is a monster now and he is unstoppable in the paint. He isn't your typical old school big man in that he does spread out his other shots from all parts of the floor, but for pure dominance and volume around the basket, there is basically no one better that has ever played the game.

If Shaq played in todays NBA he would put up Wilt Chamberlain like numbers. League is so soft now compared to the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Or, he might be a bench player because he get's played off the floor and teams don't post up anymore.  Giannis' game is much more suitable for today that Shaq's would be.

or he gets into foul trouble because he is pulled out to the 3 line, or he develops a shot out to 3 and isn't effective inside, or countless other things.  No way to know, only thing you can know is what actually happened

You guys must have missed Shaq when he was on the Magic. His game would have translated just fine.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0grIbJ5O-8&pp=ygUSc2hhcSBvcmxhbmRvIG1hZ2lj

I remember Shaq on the Magic quite well.  That guy wasn't the dominant interior scorer he became in LA.  He was very good obviously, but he took it to another level when he bulked up and stopped running the floor. And that mostly happened because he got hurt and couldn't run the floor the same way.  He was too big to maintain that style of play, which would have most likely always happened no matter what era he played in. His frame needed him to be the behemoth of a man and that big a man can't run the floor the same way.  Shaq was always at his best when he was huge, he never would have been able to keep the frame he had in Orlando.

Shaq’s rookie season in Orlando: 23pts/14rebs/3blks per game. Second year in Orlando: 29pts/13rebs/3blks per game. Yeah, he wasn’t dominant at all.

[Moranis]

I don't like comparing Giannis to Shaq. He is not as physically imposing as Shaq was. Giannis is closer to David Robinson minus the jump-shot and FT shooting.

He is not, but he is as dominant.  bball-ref has shooting numbers starting with the 96-97 season.  In Shaq's 3 Lakers title seasons from 0-3 feet he shot 77.1% and took 44.1% of his attempts from that range.  The last 3 seasons from 0-3 feet Giannis is shooting 81% and is taking 44.5% of his shots from that range.  In other words, Giannis shoots more from that range and hits at a much higher percentage than Shaq did at his apex.  Shaq's best shooting season was 01 at 79.2% which carried his average those 3 seasons.  In the last 3 years, Giannis has been 83.7, 80.8, and 79.1.  There is a very strong argument that Giannis is the most dominant interior scorer that has ever played (I'd take Wilt over him, but I'm not sure I'd take anyone else).  Even guys like Claxton, Gobert, Jordan, etc. that lead the league in FG% at around 70% haven't had a season from 0-3 feet shooting 83.7% (well Jordan just did that for the first time in Denver, but the volume isn't hardly anything).

I think a lot of people still remember Giannis as the skinny SF, but Giannis is a monster now and he is unstoppable in the paint. He isn't your typical old school big man in that he does spread out his other shots from all parts of the floor, but for pure dominance and volume around the basket, there is basically no one better that has ever played the game.

If Shaq played in todays NBA he would put up Wilt Chamberlain like numbers. League is so soft now compared to the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Or, he might be a bench player because he get's played off the floor and teams don't post up anymore.  Giannis' game is much more suitable for today that Shaq's would be.

or he gets into foul trouble because he is pulled out to the 3 line, or he develops a shot out to 3 and isn't effective inside, or countless other things.  No way to know, only thing you can know is what actually happened

You guys must have missed Shaq when he was on the Magic. His game would have translated just fine.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0grIbJ5O-8&pp=ygUSc2hhcSBvcmxhbmRvIG1hZ2lj

I remember Shaq on the Magic quite well.  That guy wasn't the dominant interior scorer he became in LA.  He was very good obviously, but he took it to another level when he bulked up and stopped running the floor. And that mostly happened because he got hurt and couldn't run the floor the same way.  He was too big to maintain that style of play, which would have most likely always happened no matter what era he played in. His frame needed him to be the behemoth of a man and that big a man can't run the floor the same way.  Shaq was always at his best when he was huge, he never would have been able to keep the frame he had in Orlando.

Shaq’s rookie season in Orlando: 23pts/14rebs/3blks per game. Second year in Orlando: 29pts/13rebs/3blks per game. Yeah, he wasn’t dominant at all.

Was he scoring at 79.2% from 0 to 3 feet?

[Who]

I don't like comparing Giannis to Shaq. He is not as physically imposing as Shaq was. Giannis is closer to David Robinson minus the jump-shot and FT shooting.

He is not, but he is as dominant.  bball-ref has shooting numbers starting with the 96-97 season.  In Shaq's 3 Lakers title seasons from 0-3 feet he shot 77.1% and took 44.1% of his attempts from that range.  The last 3 seasons from 0-3 feet Giannis is shooting 81% and is taking 44.5% of his shots from that range.  In other words, Giannis shoots more from that range and hits at a much higher percentage than Shaq did at his apex.  Shaq's best shooting season was 01 at 79.2% which carried his average those 3 seasons.  In the last 3 years, Giannis has been 83.7, 80.8, and 79.1.  There is a very strong argument that Giannis is the most dominant interior scorer that has ever played (I'd take Wilt over him, but I'm not sure I'd take anyone else).  Even guys like Claxton, Gobert, Jordan, etc. that lead the league in FG% at around 70% haven't had a season from 0-3 feet shooting 83.7% (well Jordan just did that for the first time in Denver, but the volume isn't hardly anything).

I think a lot of people still remember Giannis as the skinny SF, but Giannis is a monster now and he is unstoppable in the paint. He isn't your typical old school big man in that he does spread out his other shots from all parts of the floor, but for pure dominance and volume around the basket, there is basically no one better that has ever played the game.

If Shaq played in todays NBA he would put up Wilt Chamberlain like numbers. League is so soft now compared to the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Or, he might be a bench player because he get's played off the floor and teams don't post up anymore.  Giannis' game is much more suitable for today that Shaq's would be.

or he gets into foul trouble because he is pulled out to the 3 line, or he develops a shot out to 3 and isn't effective inside, or countless other things.  No way to know, only thing you can know is what actually happened

You guys must have missed Shaq when he was on the Magic. His game would have translated just fine.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0grIbJ5O-8&pp=ygUSc2hhcSBvcmxhbmRvIG1hZ2lj

I remember Shaq on the Magic quite well.  That guy wasn't the dominant interior scorer he became in LA.  He was very good obviously, but he took it to another level when he bulked up and stopped running the floor. And that mostly happened because he got hurt and couldn't run the floor the same way.  He was too big to maintain that style of play, which would have most likely always happened no matter what era he played in. His frame needed him to be the behemoth of a man and that big a man can't run the floor the same way.  Shaq was always at his best when he was huge, he never would have been able to keep the frame he had in Orlando.

I disagree with this.

I saw the main difference between Shaq's dominance in LAL vs his less dominant still MVP caliber years in ORL as coming down to coaching. Not his physical size.

It is striking when you go back and rewatch old Magic games just how bad a job Brian Hill did of organizing that offense and building it around Shaq's post ups. In comparison Phil Jackson, who modified the Triangle offense to better highlight Shaq's post touches, did a much better job of using Shaq as a starting point & central figure to the offense. He did not allow his team's execution to become undone. He constantly kept the focus on Shaq's low post game.

If Phil Jackson had of been the coach in Orlando during Shaq's years there, Orlando would have won multiple titles and Shaq would have won MVPs there.

[Who]

I also disagree with the general idea that Shaq would do worse in today's league than his own era.

Being able to exploit one's advantage comes down to who has the matchup advantage and who does not. Nobody in today's league could stop Shaq. Centers are smaller today. PnR offenses leading to deep post catches make it much easier for guys like Shaq to get catches deep in the paint for easy scores before a rotating help defense can get there. Switching defenses are not designed for guys like Shaq meaning Shaq either gets bunnies or his teammates gets bunnies because they are left open because they cannot switch off of Shaq.

As unstoppable as Shaq was in 2000-02, he would even more unstoppable in today's game. Shaq would devastate today's league in a way that Giannis can only dream about.